The Navigators (organization)

The Navigators
Founded April, 1933
Founder Dawson E. Trotman
Type Christian discipleship ministry
Location
  • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Area served
103 countries
Product (NavPress) books and Bible studies
Method one-to-one mentoring and small groups
International President
 Mutua Mahiani
U.S. President
 Doug Nuenke
Subsidiaries NavPress, Glen Eyrie Group, Eagle Lake Camps
Employees
4,628 staff of 69 nationalities
Slogan To know Christ and to make Him known
Website http://www.navigators.org

The Navigators is a worldwide Christian para-church organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its purpose is the discipling (training) of Christians with a particular emphasis on enabling them to share their faith with others. The organization's calling statement is "to advance the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost."[1]

The Navigators works alongside local churches by providing resources such as Bible study booklets and study aid materials, Scripture memory aids, and Christian-oriented books. These are produced through the organization's NavPress publishing group, which also offers The Message Bible paraphrase. It also supports full-time workers who work mostly within local communities. Currently, more than 4,600 Navigator staff of 69 nationalities minister to college students, military personnel, business and professional people, communities, and churches in 103 countries.

On January 1, 2005, Michael W. Treneer succeeded Dr. Jerry White as The Navigators' international president.[2] White had served in that capacity for the previous 18 years. On April 18, 2015, Mutua Mahiani succeeded Michael Treneer as the fifth International President of The Navigators.[3][4]

History

Glen Eyrie castle was purchased by The Navigators in 1953.

The Navigators was founded in 1933 by Dawson Trotman. As a result of mentoring United States Navy sailor Lester Spencer aboard USS West Virginia, 135 additional Sailors on Spencer's ship became Christians before it was sunk at Pearl Harbor. By the end of World War II, thousands of men on ships and bases around the world were learning the principles of Christian discipleship.

The collegiate ministry of The Navigators was founded in 1951 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The organization was established by a group of students in the Sigma Nu fraternity house who along with Trotman decided to spread the organization onto the college campus. The Navigators has since spread to nearly 200 college campuses in the U.S.[5] and more worldwide.

Since WWII, The Navigators has grown into a worldwide organization with representatives in over 100 countries.[6]

Glen Eyrie

The tea room at Glen Eyrie.

In 1953, The Navigators acquired its current headquarter location at Glen Eyrie through Billy Graham's sale of the then-vacant property to Trotman's organization. As a result of a well-organized fund raising effort despite an extremely tight deadline, friends of The Navigators provided the money needed to purchase the site. Today, The Navigators organizes and offers over 100 Christian conferences, retreats, and programs each year at Glen Eyrie.

The Navigators' administration headquarters building is located in the northeastern part of the Glen Eyrie property.

Controversy

The International Office building on the grounds of Glen Eyrie.

The Navigators organization was cited in a lawsuit[7] against the United States Air Force Academy by Michael Weinstein in 2005. The lawsuit alleged that Darren and Gina Lindblom, assigned to the Academy through The Navigators, were favored by the Air Force to the exclusion of other religious groups in violation of the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. This lawsuit was dismissed. Additional lawsuits[8] by Weinstein's organization, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, have named The Navigators in similar complaints of alleged proselytizing in the military. In Korea, The Navigators sued six former members for libel in 2011. They all were acquitted.[9] The Navigators are currently engaged in helping youth deal with same sex attractions,[10] even though so-called conversion therapy is a pseudoscience.

References

  1. ↑ "The Navigators Statement of Faith". The Navigators. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Passages". Christianity Today. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Mutua Mahiaini Selected as International President". The Navigators. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Earls, Stephanie. "Colorado Springs-based ministry names international president". The Gazette. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. ↑ List of The Navigators Campus Ministry Locations
  6. ↑ Overview of The Navigators
  7. ↑ Alan Cooperman (2005) Group Trains Air Force Cadets to Proselytize, Washington Post.
  8. ↑ MRFF (2008) Complaint For Injunctive Relief
  9. ↑ newsnjoy (2011) , NEWS N JOY.
  10. ↑
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